Izakaya Den — Restaurant in Denver

Last night, my girlfriend and I celebrated her 27th birthday at Izakaya Den. We were eagerly looking forward to a wonderful evening with friends. While I typically refrain from sharing negative experiences publicly, I feel compelled to do so this time because of the personal significance of the occasion.

To start on a positive note, I must say that the sushi at Izakaya Den was absolutely fantastic. The fatty tuna, in particular, was some of the best I've ever tasted. However, I regret to say that our server's performance fell short of our expectations. It would have been nice if he had inquired about the occasion, as it was my girlfriend's birthday, which he seemed unaware of, and that might have prevented some of the oversights.

Throughout the evening, every interaction with our server felt like a relentless attempt to upsell us. While we understand that suggestive selling is part of the service industry, it became incessant and overwhelming. Our inquiry about Sake, for instance, resulted in a lengthy rundown of the most expensive bottles available. In the end, we decided on two Carafes of Hot Sake and some draft Sapporo beers.

After placing our food orders, our server made a comment insinuating that we might need to add more later if we were still hungry. This came across as condescending, as if our initial order wasn't enough to meet his standards.

The food arrived relatively quickly, and I must say that the Red Dragon Roll was exceptional. However, we had already consumed about four rolls before we had to inquire about our drinks, which we had ordered before our food. The delay was frustrating, especially considering our patience and the fact that we were celebrating a special occasion.

When it was time to settle the bill, I noticed that we had been charged for two "New Style Salmon Rolls," which we didn't order. My girlfriend and I had chosen different rolls and hadn't doubled up on any of them. Moreover, we prefer tuna over salmon, but we were persuaded to try the New Style Salmon Roll due to the server's recommendation. It happened to be the most expensive roll on the menu, making it clear that I did not order two of them. I brought this to our server's attention, he checked our order slip and sure enough there were two marks next to the New Style Salmon Roll. One mark was undoubtedly my handwriting, but the other mark appeared to have been accidentally scribbled when the server shoved the pen back into his smock. Despite the suspicious nature of this, I didn't question it as a mistake. After all, we had already consumed the extra roll unknowingly since they plated both rolls together on a single plate. Consequently, I reluctantly accepted the situation. However, we were still charged for the extra roll. It seemed as though he had made a half-hearted attempt to rectify the error, but failed to follow through. He even mentioned, unprovoked, that "rules are rules," implying that there was nothing he could do about it.

To be fair, despite the disappointing service, I would consider returning to Izakaya Den solely for the exceptional quality of the sushi. However, it is important to note that this review is intended to highlight the subpar service we experienced rather than to condemn the...

I’ve been wanting to come here for months since I heard great reviews. When my sister came into town, I made a 8pm reservation for a Friday night. We were sat at our table right at 8pm. It was tucked away in a back corner. We first noticed it was SUPER hot at our table. It was around 8:20 we received waters and it wasn’t till 8:40 we were able to place our food order. Our server was very nice but we noticed she was pulling double duty between the tables and the bar. She didn’t have the time to walk us through the restaurant, food, and/or culture, as we observed from the tables around us. It was tough to see the table next to us receive drastically different service. Waters were at their table when they arrived, server walked through the whole menu/history/culture, and they placed their food in about 10 mins from being seated.

After we placed our order, we received miso soup. As it was delivered to the table, part of the soup was spilled on to my sister’s leg. (Which was super hot.) It was a total mistake but it was adding to the poor experience we were already having.

We placed an order for 1 app, 1 salad, 2 rolls and 1 nigiri. I noticed food was coming out via food runners which was a relief since our server was busy behind the bar. We received our first roll and it was a the rainbow roll as we would have expected. The shrimp tempura threw us through a loop. It had mayo inside which was the first time I’ve seen that. Traditionally it does not have mayo and the menu didn’t specify this. The nigiri was a disappointing surprise as well. The item is traditionally fish and rice. It was fish and rice however the rice was mixed with wasabi. Definitely unexpected! It wasn’t till after all the food was delivered we were informed the appetizer we ordered was out of stock. We didn’t order anything else in replacement. Truly we just wanted to leave.

To round out the night, the server next to our table was lovely however invaded our personal space multiple times. Leaning over the other table causing his rear to be an inch from our food. Then while checking in on his guests, he leaned on my sisters chair. It became super uncomfortable how close he was to her when he was engaging with other guests and when addressed he simply said “sorry I’m tired”

Reviews show this place is great. Maybe we had the perfect storm of issues. Staff was super friendly (outside of the server completely in our table space) I’m so bummed we had such a poor experience.

I hope management takes the multiple above concerns and observations into consideration, and above all realize that splitting a bar tender to also wait tables on a Friday night isn’t the...

Do you want mediocre, overpriced sushi with an off putting staff of people serving you at a really high price? Look no further then Izakaya Den. Although I fully respect a business’s right to have people wear a mask (even though literally every other place in Denver has gone optional as of this writing), making your clientele wait in either 97 degree heat ( a week or two ago) or the rain ( tonight) just speaks to arrogance. That arrogance is fully transferred to the staff, and coupled with meh food, it’s best to avoid this place until they get back on point.

Let me first describe my four interactions with the staff. First, the incredibly condescending and borderline rude hostess at the front checking people in. Next, after checking in ( for bar seating upstairs) and providing a phone number, as I sat down at the upstairs bar, another hostess saw fit to throw down some menus then publically admonish me for not checking in at the second hostdesk upstairs. Loud enough that several other patrons commented on her behavior after she left. So much work just to sit down at the bar.

The bartender was fine. The food runner on the was another story. I had my phone in my hand in front of me, clearly engaged in a text and he decided to shove ( literally) my hand and phone out of the way ( without a word) in order to place the food directly in front of me.

So, the food. Edamame was OK, maybe 7/10. Sushi was flavorless and mediocre. All of it. Maybe a 5/10. Maybe. The prices however, 10/10, this restaurant is just incredibly proud of itself.

The deal killer? I ordered fresh wasabi( usually packed with flavor anywhere else) to offset the flavorless sashimi and got charged $7 ( it’s usually $2 ANYWHERE else) and even that was terrible.

So, end of the day rude, arrogant staff. Mediocre food. And severely overpriced. Unless you’re trying to impress someone with the size of your wallet there are significantly better sushi restaurants out there. Don’t. Just don’t. This is clearly an establishment living off it’s...